Boise (670 KBOI News) – It may be summer, but the Idaho state government is working to hammer out the details of the Medicaid expansion passed by the voters in November, and wrestled with by the legislature this past session.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is taking public comment on a waiver, which would allow some people, who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level, to opt for exchange-based health coverage, rather than Medicaid.
But Jeremy Gugino, spokesman for Reclaim Idaho, says that would be expensive for taxpayers, and not give the best coverage to low-wage Idahoans.
“We really run the risk of spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, to cover the cost of the subsidized plans on the exchange, rather than having these folks go onto Medicaid expansion,” said Gugino. “It is much cheaper, and much more efficient to pay for these folks through Medicaid expansion.”
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